I tore my ACL back in 1983, had recon done in 1987. Recovery took about a year (physical) and another few months to get total confidence back. We didn't have the fancy braces back then available now.

I think it's feasible for you to return to Judo, especially if you get the go-ahead from your MD/physio, and you have truly rehabilitated the knee (rebuilt the muscle mass/strength around it). I was already a shodan for a few years when I had my knee done, and fairly experienced, so I was pretty good at protecting myself once I got back to judo.

At your age, you might want to avoid the all out randori with other "newbs". They have a lot less control and sense of what they are doing. Take it slow and gradually. Stay out of randori for a while, but do a lot of drills and throwing, and ne waza. Kata is a good option as well, if there is someone around who can teach you.

I've hurt my knee doing ne waza as well. If you go to BJJ, you will need to take it slow as well, same process of drilling working on positions.

Get that ACL brace and use it either way.

Ben

I do have a retail brace, but that really only keeps my knee warm. Better than nothing I guess.

I completely agree with you about the noobs. It was actually a yellow belt that was involved with the injury. I might just stick to newaza for the first month or so.

You can buy one of those braces on amazon. Funny thing is when I looked at the cost of mine that insurance paid against the amount if you buy it on amazon, my insurance paid about 4 times the price. <---The reason our health care is effed up!

Mine is the Don Joy ACL brace, and it works great. And yes, it helps mentally to get back in the game without worrying about it.

Donjoy braces are great. I wore one after my ACL reconstruction for quite a while (a hinged brace).

The only issue with the hinged brace is that it can injure your partner, whether standing (Judo) or rolling (BJJ).

I would absolutely wear one for the first year after surgery, but definitely be aware of the fact that you can mess up your training partners pretty good if they're not aware that you are wearing one... they tend to have very hard/sharp edges that can easily knock someone for a loop should you contact their head...

As stated, the best way to recover and get back into serious training is to strengthen the muscles surrounding the injury.... in your case, the quad and the calf.

I tore my ACL, shredded the meniscus and knocked a chip off my patella in 1990. After surgery, it took about a year to get back to normal walking. The doctor had me fitted for a titanium donjoy brace which I wore several times while playing paintball. It was hideously overpriced, IMHO. The only thing that sucked about it was sitting in seiza.

Ten years later, I started taijutsu. Never had a problem. Frankly the surgical knee feels better than the healthy one.

My only knee injury during grappling (meniscus tear) was during newaza. It was during a bit or a scramble with me attempting a sit-out type maneuver from bottom turtle. I've never tweaked my bad knee during standing throws in Judo/SAMBO. With that being said, I've torn my mcl and partial acl on my right knee three times doing other ****. Leading to the following story...

I was completely terrified of doing tai otoshi for years, as my kneecap can quickly end up on the side of my leg. Finally one night, I just went for it, being very careful. It went great. I went home feeling stoked, as it's a great throw for a long-legged type like myself. I walk in the door telling my wife how stoked I was to have finally gotten this damn throw. WITHOUT FUCKING UP MY KNEE! Then I proceed to step on my son's tiny toddler shoe, my kneecap slips, and I end up in a fucking heap with my knee on the side of my goddamn leg. MCL tear number 3!

I currently wear an hinged Bike brace to all practices, and don't find it restricts me. It looks similar to the DonJoy braces that the other guys mentioned. If anyone has compared these two, please give me a rundown, as the cover of mine is getting pretty shredded.

I tore my ACL, shredded the meniscus and knocked a chip off my patella in 1990. After surgery, it took about a year to get back to normal walking. The doctor had me fitted for a titanium donjoy brace which I wore several times while playing paintball. It was hideously overpriced, IMHO. The only thing that sucked about it was sitting in seiza.

Ten years later, I started taijutsu. Never had a problem. Frankly the surgical knee feels better than the healthy one.

Damn that's rough.

Yeah, sitting in seiza is impossible for me as well. I have to warm up before the bow in and it's still excruciating.

My only knee injury during grappling (meniscus tear) was during newaza. It was during a bit or a scramble with me attempting a sit-out type maneuver from bottom turtle. I've never tweaked my bad knee during standing throws in Judo/SAMBO. With that being said, I've torn my mcl and partial acl on my right knee three times doing other ****. Leading to the following story...

I was completely terrified of doing tai otoshi for years, as my kneecap can quickly end up on the side of my leg. Finally one night, I just went for it, being very careful. It went great. I went home feeling stoked, as it's a great throw for a long-legged type like myself. I walk in the door telling my wife how stoked I was to have finally gotten this damn throw. WITHOUT FUCKING UP MY KNEE! Then I proceed to step on my son's tiny toddler shoe, my kneecap slips, and I end up in a fucking heap with my knee on the side of my goddamn leg. MCL tear number 3!

I currently wear an hinged Bike brace to all practices, and don't find it restricts me. It looks similar to the DonJoy braces that the other guys mentioned. If anyone has compared these two, please give me a rundown, as the cover of mine is getting pretty shredded.

I feel your pain. Tai Otoshi is my choice throw, but that's what I was doing when I tore the ACL. Did you have patella surgery, or has it always dislocated laterally?